The arrangements presently in use comprise introducing steam to the drying cylinder through a steam joint 2 fastened to the end of the cylinder shaft, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The steam joint 2 is supported via supporting arms 26 or bearer bars against the machine frame. Steam is introduced into the cylinder through the rotating shaft 3 of the steam cylinder. Condensate and discharge steam are conducted out of the cylinder via a horizontal condensate discharge pipe 4 into the condensate section 27 of the steam joint 2.
There exist also arrangements with a connection structure for the condensate only, so called condensate joint. However, it is common to have the steam and condensate joints in the same steam joint. The most commonly known structure of the steam joint is shown in FIG. 2. The steam joint 2 is supported against the machine frame (not shown in FIG. 2) with a pair of bars 1. The structure of the steam joint includes frame flanges 28 which are used for fastening the bearer bars 1 to the steam joint 2.
FIG. 3 shows a bracket support construction 5. The bracket 5 is rigidly fixed to the steam joint 2 with fixing screws 24. The bracket 5 is fixed to the machine frame 15 with fixing screws 29.
The drawback of the arrangements in FIGS. 2 and 3 is that the geometric center line 6 and the center axis of the rotating parts inside the steam joint do not coincide with the center line 7 of the cylinder shaft, see FIG. 4b. The differences of the center lines may be due to tolerances of the machining of the steam joint support deviating from the allowed ones. As a result the parts inside the steam joint wear out or suffer damage in a short time.
The Jackson U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,561 describes an arrangement to install a rotary joint to a machine frame by using a bracket support. This construction comprises a tang 52 and fixing bolts 48. The desired positioning of the steam joint is achieved by parts 54, 56, and 58. After positioning the body 50 of the steam joint is fastened to the bracket 46 with bolts 60.